CPUAlarm

Some specialized testing environments require you to keep system resources under close watch to check performance. Everything running on your PC uses at least a bit of everything, and in case the CPU is the resource you want to monitor, then CPUAlarm can help display usage either on the desktop, or tray area.

Mostly sits in the tray area

Once installed, and launched, the application automatically hides to the tray area, and is the default location you need to direct your attention to in order to check CPU activity. Note that the icon can be confused with that of Task Manager, but the skin can be changed simply by loading a different BMP file. Unfortunately, there aren’t any other preset skins apart from the default one.
The small graph in the tray area updates in real time as CPU load increases. Unfortunately, it’s the only way usage is displayed, without any numerical values, or percentage for more accurate reading. Just to make it easier to track, the application can also create a desktop object you can freely move around.

Monitor CPU usage of a running process

On the other hand, the desktop object is nothing more than the same icon found in the tray area, and it can get incredibly difficult to spot. There aren’t any view options to make it bigger, but you can at least move it around, or make it stay on top of everything else.
Another aspect to consider is that the application doesn’t monitor activity for your entire CPU. In fact, in only shows usage for one of the processes currently running on your PC. Luckily, you can pick the process to monitor from a list, and even launch multiple instances. The downside is that there’s no way to tell which is which.

In conclusion

Bottom line is that monitoring of hardware components doesn’t really have to be tied to specialized domains of activity. With CPUAlarm you can keep track of the amount of CPU used by running processes. Unfortunately, it feels like in early stages of development, and you’re hardly able to obtain any readings at all, not to mention accurate ones.